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United States Army Ranks
The United States Army had 17 ranks at the beginning of the war and 21 at the end of the war. Enlisted Rank History In August 5, 1920 as per War Department Circular Number 303, the United States Army reduced their enlisted ranks down to 7 pay grades, 8 enlisted rank titles and only 7 different rank insignias. The previous specialty ranks were converted to the nearest equivalent enlisted pay grade. Previously there were bands of pay from General (grade 1) to Private (grade 21). The Enlisted pay grades were now made separate and numbered from Grade 7 (Private, the lowest) to Grade 1 (Master Sergeant, the highest). The Military would not use the current lowest-to-highest numbering system until 1951 and would not adopt the "E" prefix for the enlisted grades until 1955. Private Second Class had no insignia. It would not get one until 1968, when it inherited the former single chevron insignia of Private First Class to distinguish them from recruits attending boot camp. Private First Class received one chevron as its insignia; this replaced the trade badge or single "rocker" stripe previously assigned it. It received its current chevron and "rocker" stripes in 1968. First Sergeant was considered an appointment rather than a rank. It was first considered a superior form of Technical Sergeant (with 2 curved "rocker" stripes) and later reclassed in 1942 as a subordinate form of Master Sergeant (with 3 "rocker" stripes). The rank of Sergeant Major was eliminated and wouldn't be restored until 1958. Its functions were absorbed by the grade of Master Sergeant. Stripes had previously been shrunk to 3.125-inches wide in 1902 and were wool on a wool backing. They were Khaki on Olive Drab backing on the Olive Drab Service uniform, Olive-Drab on Khaki backing on the Khaki Field uniform, and Branch-colored (like sky-blue for Infantry or yellow for Cavalry) worn on a Blue backing on the Dress Blue uniform. In 1920 the Branch-colored enlisted stripes and the senior "staff" rank stripes (with flat "bars" instead of curved "rockers") were abolished. They were now replaced with standardized "Summer" light olive drab (OD-3) or "Winter" buff-colored (OD-2) wool stripes on a dark blue felt backing for all branches. The "Winter" stripes were worn on the Class "A" and "B" uniforms and the "Summer" stripes were worn on the Class "C" and fatigue uniforms. Technician Rank History Before 1920 the US Army had a wide variety of specialty and trade ranks. They covered everything from bakers, cooks, and musicians to farriers, medical orderlies, telegraph or radio operators, and electricians. They had a bewildering array of insignia with an equally-confusing system of pay groups, with senior specialists getting more pay than senior NCOs. Seniority was also difficult to figure out, for example between a Chief Electrical Engineer and a Coast Artillery Corps Gunner or between an Infantry Staff Sergeant and a Medical Department Staff Sergeant. There were 76 trades before World War One and the number was expanded to 134 during and afterwards. Not even the head of the Quartermaster Department, which designed and issued the insignia, knew them all. Specialist (1920-1942) In 1920 the wide variety of specialty and trade ranks and their insignia were abolished and replaced with the rank of Private-Specialist. The rank of Private-Specialist received the same pay as a Private (Grade 7) or Private First Class (Grade 6) but received a bonus from $3 (Specialist Sixth Class) through $30 (Specialist First Class) per month. Specialists had the same single chevron of a Private First Class but were considered between the ranks of Private First Class and Corporal in authority. This was very confusing, as you couldn't tell the difference between a PFC and a Specialist and couldn't tell what their specialty was because trade badges had been eliminated. Unofficial insignia adopted by post commands granted Specialists one to six arcs under their chevron (ranging from one for Specialist Sixth Class to six for Specialist First Class) to indicate their grade and trade badges inset between their stripes to indicate their specialty. The rank of Private-Specialist was abolished in 1942 and replaced with the rank of Technician. Technician (1942-1948) Technician ranks were added during the rank changes in January 8, 1942. They received the same pay as an NCO of the same Grade but were considered a half step in authority subordinate to NCOs of the same grade and superior to all lesser grades. For instance, a Technician Third Grade was equal to a Staff Sergeant G-3 in pay ($96 a month) but was considered between a Sergeant G-4 and Staff Sergeant G-3 in authority. They had the same rank insignia as NCOs of the same pay grade, but were differenced with a "T" insignia of stripe color between the chevrons and rockers. The Technician ranks were abolished on August 1, 1948. Warrant Officer Rank History Warrant Officers are specialist personnel with a narrow authority called a warrant rather than the broad authority of an officer's commission. In the world's militaries they are either considered a senior grade of Non-Commissioned Officer (like in European armies) or a layer of command between Non-Commissioned and Commissioned Officers (like in the United States' Army). They differ from commissioned officers in that they have a specialized area of expertise rather than a general familiarity with a variety of subjects. 'Field Clerks' Originally, civilian employees of the Department of War did administrative and clerical tasks in headquarters units and staffs. The Judge Advocate General's Corps ruled in 1916 that all military staff positions should be filled by Army personnel. The ranks of Army Field Clerk and Quarter-Master Corps Field Clerk were authorized by an Act of Congress in 1916. Army Field Clerks worked as headquarters staff or for the Adjutant General’s Department and Quarter-Master Corps Field Clerks worked as administrative and pay clerks. On July 1917 they were assigned to wear enlisted uniform. For branch insignia they wore two crossed quill pens on a disk on their collar and a freework cap badge of two crossed quill pens worn on the visored cap. In December 19, 1917 Special Regulation 41 stated that the Army Field Clerk and Quarter-Master Corps Field Clerk ranks were authorized the same uniform as an officer. They were not permitted the brown mohair cuff braid band of an Army officer but were authorized a silver-and-black braid hatcord for wear with the M1911 Campaign Hat and the officer's "G.I. Eagle" for wear with the M1902 peaked cap. Their rank insignia was two crossed quill pens. To tell them apart their branch insignia was pendant underneath it. Army Field Clerks had the Adjutant General’s Department shield. Quarter-Master Corps Field Clerks used the Quarter-Master Corps wheel (paired so the eagle perched atop its wheel faced forward). The National Defense Act of 1920 authorized Warrant Officers to serve in clerical or administrative posts allowed to enlisted ranks. Army Field Clerks, Quarter-Master Corps Field Clerks, and Army Bandmasters were classed as Army Warrant Officers and no further appointments were made to the Field Clerk rank. On June 9, 1920 War Department Bulletin 25 authorized Army Warrant Officers to wear the same uniform as Warrant Officers in the Mine Planter Service, except they were not permitted to wear its brown cord rank braid on the sleeves. On May 12, 1921 a Warrant Officer Branch insignia was authorized - a Gold Rising Eagle in a "W"-shaped laurel wreath. Warrant Officers, regardless of branch of assignment, were expected to wear it to difference them from non-commissioned and commissioned officers. In 1926 the rank of Field Clerk was abolished and all Field Clerks were converted to Warrant Officers. The rank of Warrant Officer was later used as a reward. It was given to former commissioned officers who no longer met the educational requirements or outstanding enlisted personnel who were too old to be commissioned and who otherwise could look to no further advancement. This was discontinued when the rank of Warrant Officer was reorganized in 1941. 'Army Mine Planter Service (Coast Artillery Corps)' The Coastal Artillery Corps was an organization created in 1901 as a sub-division of the Artillery Corps to man the Army's coastal forts and harbor defenses. It not only controlled the batteries of anti-ship artillery and mine fields that protected the United States from attack or invasion by sea, it also controlled coastal anti-aircraft artillery defenses to prevent attack by air. In 1904 an Army Mine Planter Service was set up by the Coast Artillery Corps to run a fleet of Mine Layer ships that were under direct Army control. The original crews were civilians running retrofitted craft until purpose-built Army minelayers could replace them. On July 9, 1918 Congress passed the Appropriations Act of 1918, which organized the crews as military personnel and created the rank of Warrant Officer. On July 22, 1918 War Department Bulletin 43 classed the ships' Masters, Mates, and Engineers as Warrant Officers and stated that each ship had to have one of each rank onboard to staff the three duty watches. On January 17, 1920, War Department Circular 15 authorized a set of rank insignia using embroidered trade badges over brown cord cuff braid. The brown cord bands represented the burlap sack strands originally used as informal cuff insignia by the crew's officers. The Mine Planter Service ranks and their insignia were officially discontinued in 1954, although the Coastal Artillery Corps was disestablished in 1950 and its Mine Planter Service had been disestablished on June 30, 1947. 'Warrant Officer' On August 21, 1941 Public Law 77–230 was passed by Congress, authorizing the ranks of Warrant Officer (Junior Grade) and Chief Warrant Officer. The rank of Warrant Officer (Junior Grade) would receive the same pay and allowances as an Army Field Clerk ($148 / month). Insignia was a gold bar 3/8 inch cm wide and 1 inch cm long, rounded at the ends inlaid with brown enamel on top and a latitudinal strip of gold in the center 1/8 cm inch wide. The Chief Warrant Officer would receive the same pay and allowances as an Army Mine Planter Service Chief Engineer ($175 / month). The insignia was a gold bar 3/8 inch cm in width and 1 inch cm in length with rounded ends, brown enamel on top with a longitudinal rounded center stripe of gold 1/8 inch wide cm. Gold was chosen as the insignia's metal because it was used for subordinate officer ranks. Brown enamel was chosen as it was the color of the cuff braid for the Mine Planter Service. 'Flight Officer' Prior to 1942, all Army Air Force pilots were either enlisted men or officers. Officers flew fighter planes and non-commissioned officers flew gliders, liaison aircraft, transports, and bombers. This led to an inequality between them, as enlisted pilots didn't receive the same pay or privileges that officer pilots did. In July 18, 1942 Congress passed Public Law 77–658 (the Flight Officer Act), which created the rank of Flight Officer. On November 7, 1942 War Department Circular 366 authorized for the rank of Flight Officer to wear the insignia of a Warrant Officer (Junior Grade), except that it had a blue enamel backing instead of brown. Aviation Cadets would now graduate as Flight Officers, with the top 10% of the class graduating as Second Lieutenants. Flight Officers were superior in rank to all enlisted and non-commissioned ranks, as well as all Army Ground Force and Army Air Force Warrant Officers (Junior Grade) and Chief Warrant Officers. A Flight Officer serving as an aircraft's pilot was considered the senior crew-member and the aircraft's commander, even if the crew had commissioned officers. The rank of Flight Officer was discontinued in 1945 when the number of officer pilots grew high enough to replace them. Officer Rank History All of the officer ranks were created during the Revolutionary War and were based on those used by the British Army. The senior rank of Lieutenant-General was held only by George Washington as supreme commander of the Continental forces. Officers did not receive a pay grade until 1949 and would not use the "O"-prefix until 1955. Previous to that, officer's pay raises had to go through Congress and their pay was set at a fixed yearly amount per rank that was paid out in "pay periods". Graded pay for officers now rewarded longevity in rank with higher pay and added benefits and special pay. 'Development of Officer Rank Insignia' Initially, officer insignia was silver or gold metal lace epaulets worn on one or both shoulders to indicate rank. Infantry subaltern officers (Ensigns, Lieutenants and Captains) carried half-pikes called spadroons as the symbol of their authority. Cavalry and artillery subaltern officers carried swords, as did Field and General Officers. In the 1830s rank insignia were adopted with the adding of bars for subalterns (Lieutenants and Captains), an oak leaf for field officers (Majors and Lieutenant-Colonels), an eagle for colonels, and a number of silver stars for Generals. The rank of Ensign (changed to 2nd Lieutenant in 1871) did not receive insignia (a single gold bar) until 1917 and were identified by their bare epaulets. Officers assigned to "Dismounted" units (Infantry and "walking" branches like the Engineers) wore gold-embroidered insignia on silver epaulets. Officers assigned to "Mounted" units (Cavalry, Dragoons and "riding" branches like the Artillery and Mounted Rifles) wore silver-embroidered insignia on gold epaulets. This color was reversed for Majors. Subalterns (Ensigns, Lieutenants, and Captains) wore plain epaulets and Field Officers (Majors, Lieutenant-Colonels, and Colonels) and Generals wore fringed epaulets. In 1835 the Shoulder Strap replaced the epaulet for wear on the frock coat in the field. It was a rectangular vertical piece of dark blue cloth with a raised yellow cloth border worn on the coat's shoulders over the attachment point for the epaulets. The officer's embroidered insignia of rank was worn facing on each end of the strap (except for Colonels and Generals, who wore their single insignia facing inwards). The field of the strap was changed from dark blue to branch colors in 1851 with the adoption of the French-style frock coat.The shoulder strap is still used today with the Army Dress Blue uniform. In 1851 the rank insignia for colonels was standardized as a silver eagle. In 1872 to reduce confusion the rank insignia were standardized at 1 silver bar for Lieutenants, 2 conjoined silver bars for Captains, a gold oak-leaf for Majors, a silver oak-leaf for Lieutenant-Colonels, a silver eagle for Colonels, 1 star for Brigadier-Generals, 2 stars for Major-Generals, and 3 stars for Lieutenant-Generals. In 1871 the French were defeated by the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian War. This led to the US Army uniform discarding its French influences and briefly adopting Prussian and British ones for the remainder of the 19th century. The dress uniform adopted Prussian-style lace shoulder knots to indicate officer ranks. In 1881 the Army adopted a navy-blue British-style pith helmet with a brass helmet plate, a Prussian-style Pickelhaube ornament on top, and cloth or lace cap-line cords. This was issued until the Service Blue uniform was discarded in 1902 and replaced with the Service Olive Drab and Field Khaki uniform. General of the Army Rank The rank of General of the Armies was granted to only two men in US history. The three-star version of the rank was created in 1799 for George Washington for his service commanding the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and acting as Senior Officer of the American Army from July, 1798 until his death in December, 1799. Washington died before he could be awarded it. The promotion was posthumously granted on January 19, 1976 by an act of congress (Public Law 94-479), signed into law on October 11, 1976 by President Gerald Ford, and approved by Secretary of the Army Clifford Alexander on March 15, 1978. The act also declared that Washington's ''General of the Armies rank would supersede in seniority any American Army ranks, current or future. The five-star version, dubbed ''General of the Armies of the United States, was granted to General John J. Pershing in September 3, 1919 by an act of congress (Public Law 66-45) for his service in World War One as commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. Although an insignia was designed by Pershing (a row of four gold stars) and worn by him in his official portrait, it was never officially authorized for wear by the Army. The appointment ended with Pershing's retirement in 1924 but he still held it as his retired service rank until his death in 1948. It is considered superior to the General of the Army and General of the Army of the United States ranks in seniority. The four-star rank General of the Army of the United States was granted to only three Civil War generals: Ulysses S. Grant (July 25, 1866 to March 4, 1869), William T. Sherman (March 8, 1869 to November 1, 1883), and Philip H. Sheridan (June 1, 1888 to August 5, 1888). It was granted by an act of congress as an augmentation to the holder of the three-star general rank of Commanding General of the US Army for their service in the war''.'' Grant received it a year after the Civil War ended and held it until he resigned his post to serve as president in 1869. Sherman received it days after succeeding Grant. However, the controversial Sheridan didn't get promoted to the higher rank until just before his death. It is considered superior to the conventional four-star rank of General. The four-star regular rank of General ''was first created temporarily in 1917. It was granted to Major-Generals Tasker Bliss and Peyton C. March (the consecutive Army Chiefs of Staff during World War One) and Major-General John J. Pershing (commander of the American Expeditionary Force) to grant them equivalent rank to the Allied Generals they would be dealing with. It would not be granted again until the US Army expanded during World War Two. The five-star ''General of the Army rank was constituted on December 14, 1944 under Public Law 78-482 as a temporary rank and was made permanent in 1946. It was an honorary rank equivalent to that of Field Marshal in European armies rather than a higher command rank. Only five men were awarded with the rank of General of the Army and only four were made during the war. It was considered inferior to the honorary five-star rank of General of the Armies of the United States but superior to the honorary four-star rank of General of the Army of the United States and the regular four-star rank of General. It was the first honorary rank to be given to multiple holders simultaneously. Seniority between the rank's holders was by the date it was granted. *General George C. Marshall Army Chief of Staff (December 16, 1944) *General Douglas MacArthur Commander - Southwest Pacific Area (December 18, 1944) *General Dwight D. Eisenhower Commander - Europe (December 20, 1944) *General Henry H. Arnold of the US Army Air Forces (December 21, 1944); of the Air Force (May 7, 1949) *General Omar N. Bradley of US First Army (June, 1944), Commander of the 12th Army Group (August, 1944), first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1950-1953) (September 22, 1950) The promotions were made parallel to the Navy's 5-star Fleet Admiral promotions. They were staggered so the Navy, the "Senior Service", would have precedence over the Army. Although General Henry H. Arnold retired in 1946, he retained his rank of General of the Army even after the Army Air Force became a separate service in 1947. This was changed under Public Law 81-58 in 1949 to General of the Air Force (GAF) to reflect the now independent nature of the Air Force. Arnold's official portrait was retaken in Air Force dress uniform wearing the new insignia. Arnold was the only holder of the rank, although General Curtis LeMay was proposed for it when he commanded the Strategic Air Command. Arnold remains the only person in American history to hold a 5-star General appointment in two different services. General Omar Bradley was later promoted to 5-star General rank in 1950 for two reasons. One was so as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff he could be on par with General Douglas MacArthur, who was still serving at the time. The second was as a reward for his World War Two service and his popularity as the "Soldier's General". A six-star General of the Armies rank was considered for a potential theater-level commanding general but it was later shelved and never awarded. The first time was in June, 1945, when General Douglas MacArthur was proposed to be supreme commander of all Allied forces in Operation: Downfall, the plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. A second time was in 1955 in which it was proposed for a potential US general commanding NATO. Enlisted Ranks (1920-1948) Warrant Officer Ranks (1941-1945) Officer Ranks :http://www.warrantofficerhistory.org/Hist_of_Army_WO.htm#TheBeginning Category:Military Ranks of World War Two